Month: June 2015

Despite all the fiddly PE, this kit is coming together surprisingly quickly. Saturday was mainly spent getting the chassis almost finished, and attaching the wheels. The chassis parts were a little warped once assembled. It is possible that was my fault – this is my first time building a vehicle with a ‘ladder’ chassis. It was simple enough to straighten out, and all 10 wheels are sitting square on the cutting mat. Yay!

First coat of OD on, and wheels attached.

First coat of OD on, and wheels attached.

I have used tow cable from Karaya in Poland, and I highly recommend it. It looks realistic, don’t you think?

Winch with metal cable looking the part well, I think.

Closer look at the front end and winch from behind.

Sunday has mostly been spent adding the photoetch. I am using the excellent Eduard set for this kit, and you can see the degree of difference it makes.

Modelling time is over for this weekend. I’ve never built a truck before, and it’s an eye-opener. This gun truck is incredibly detailed. It’s taken me around 10 hours to get the chassis to around 80% assembled. Amazing levels of detail, and the front wheels are movable.

However, in my opinion this kit is not to the same standard as the Centurion I just finished. The plastic here is softer and the instructions are VERY vague regarding placement of the parts. I’m still not convinced the exhaust is in the right place – it may have to come off again.

Here we have the AFV Club 1/35 M35A1 Quad .50 Gun Truck (Kit # AF35034), with the Eduard PE set (ED35439). I couldn’t afford the resin wheel, so will be dealing with the shiny ones supplied with the kit.

Why is this something completely different after the Centurion? Because this has wheels, not tracks! Simple really.

The black blob is a sheet of masks for the various bits of artwork that can adorn this vehicle.

This is the AFV Club 1/35 RAAC (Royal Australian Armoured Corps) Centurion Mk V/I, with Eduard PE and various bits from the spares box. I did have the excellent AFV Club working tracks, but gave up when I realised my arthritic hands couldn’t cope. That’s also why I only used around 20% of the PE. 😦

This kit is very highly detailed OOB, and I recommend it. AFV Club achieve the detail by having a high parts count – giving more possibilities during the production process. We’re talking Dragon levels of parts here.

Anyway…

I keep looking at the red/brown mud effect, so common in Vietnam where this tank served, and think I’ve overdone it. However, looking at various photos, I think I may have understated it.

I mean, look at the mud and the colour – and you can see the colours are washed out on this old photo!

The kit, if you are a new reader, is the AFV Club 1/35 RAAC Centurion Mk 5/1 (Kit No. 35100) with the addition of Eduard PE and some lead wire for e.g. the searchlight cable. The spares box has also been raided for what would otherwise have been an empty turret basket. This kit has a very high parts count – like Dragon – and is very detailed OOB. I highly recommend it.

The assembly stage (apart from 2 radio antenna, which go on last) is now finished and the painting and weathering has begun. This is my first attempt at the red/brown found in some parts of Vietnam, and my phone camera makes it appear more vivid than it actually is. Lots more washes to add yet, as well as other fun stuff.

Oh! I ran out of tow cable, so they won’t be added until next weekend.

That red/brown really is way more vivid than it appears to the naked eye. I managed to lose one of the fire extinguishers – that red blob is a piece of sprue.

Loving this view. Lots more weathering and dulling down to do though.

You can see the lead wire added for searchlight cabling. A Googled photo showed it went like this.